#church of seiros critical

[raxistaicho]

"You insulted my boss? Die, sinner!"

If anyone tries to tell you the Church of Seiros doesn't execute people for any offense, just remember:

Catherine says she would kill a person just for being mildly disrespectful to Rhea. She's highly respected among the knighthood: they would follow her example.

[diaphin93]

I think one of the funniest arguments I've seen in FE Twitter for why Nabateans should be ruling and hold authority over the inferior race is probably how their age and lived experience makes them most fit to rule when the US just went over the issue of its running candidates for leadership becoming increasingly old.

Like yeah, there are old people who through lived experiences and age have gained alot of insights and wisdom, but then there is also your insane grandpa who is angry at kids day and age playing with their Minecrafts instead of working in the mines from 4am to 10pm.

Rhea is a person who gets so insanely angry over her science fair necromancy experiment siding with the evil red lady and her now losing the war, that against every offer to surrender or resolve this war with her dignity and life intact, she instead has the biggest german kid temper tantrum in gaming history and orders to burn an entire civilian city she and her remaining troops currently inhabit and which gave them refuge for 5 years. I wouldn't trust Rhea to take care of my cat without burning the town I live in to the ground because he wouldn't let her pet him.

[emblemoftheattorney]

Edelstans: “Edelgard detractors completely miss the nuances and morally grayness of her character! Fandoms can’t handle complex characters!”

Me: Oh I agree…

Same Edelstans: *Remove all the nuances and moral grayness from Rhea and make posts about how she shouldn’t have been an ally on any routes or even that there should’ve been a golden ending where all houses team up to defeat her* Me: You know what, forget it, I can’t sympathize with you anymore

[maelor321]

That's why Adrestia being so underdeveloped is a crime, because Adrestia is the land who screwed over the church the most.

Edie's hatred of the Church isn't unique to her, it's part of the Adrestian supremacist identity, fostered from ruling over a continent and made worse by the destruction of the Southern church after the loss of northern Fódlan.

If Manuela was from Faerghus, spouting such arguments would be followed by deep analysis of her character, because the Faerghus characters have the study of how culture affect the people, with the struggle between the violence and scorn that likely come from Nemesis and his Elites' legacy mixed with the devout brotherhood and camaraderie enforced by the Church of Seiros.

Manuela and Dorothea's supports with church members should have been tied to that, with an addition of their general attitude being different as the game advance, because they fundamentally don't really understand the church, which is understandable because they're commoners of Adrestia, who sullied holy grounds a century ago, destroying the eldest branch of the Faith (the southern church is literally the birthplace of the Church of Seiros) and putting its pieces under control of a noble house.

It would have been so great to see them realize their misunderstandings, and for once, seeing the nobility called out specifically because of their actions against the Church, instead of the usual implication than the Church condone Nobles' sins.

But alas, only the BL route truly care for tackling on the faults coming from toxic aspects of a culture, rather than merely talking of the Church and nobles*, which lead to Dorothea being close-minded even when she turns against Edie.

Manuela is especially sad because she's devout in a way outside of the Church, following the Goddess without really feeling the need for the great buildings and all, so not seeing her perspective evolve, especially when she's a teacher working at Garreg Mach, is a wasted opportunity.

*the vengeful attitude of Faerghus and devotion to the Church is in all of it, not just the nobility.

Favorite instance of the Fódlan games framing the CoS as bad for doing something objectively benign and good for nearly everyone involved in said action?

The easiest one I can think of is this one :

Rhea : "I'll make the seat of this Church thing here, where Mother and my siblings are resting, not far from Zanado, in the mountains. The Holy Tomb also serves as a nuclear shelter, just in case humans try again to target me and send missiles."

Manu :

I understand now why they'd build the monastery in the mountainous center of Fódlan. Although... When the monastery was built, the Kingdom and Alliance weren't even around yet. But look how cleverly it was placed right in the middle of the Empire, Kingdom, and Alliance. That's weird, right?

:/

Supreme Leader :

The leaders of the church have misused its creed to fulfill their true desire—to rule the world. They have fooled the people of Fódlan. Long ago, they divided the Empire to create a Kingdom and then...divided that Kingdom to create an Alliance. They did all of this to make the masses bicker amongst themselves. They caused instability in order to reinforce their own authority.

:/

Manu's blaming the Rhine for "weirdly" being between France and Germany, and it's echoed through Supreme Leader's war speech who blames the Church to have "divided" France and Germany.

Sure we have examples of nationalistic speechs blaming the world and everyone else for, hm, dividing a former glorious Empire in multiple states, but coupled to Manu's thinly veiled conspiration theories, it's almost as if the game wants us to believe Rhea was the mastermind who put GM where it is because it stands as the center of the world, and had precognition powers to guess that'll also be the center of a divided Fodlan, and not, just, building her newest home near the old one, on top of her mom and siblings' resting place to look over them.

Very "bruh" moment indeed.

[slotumn]

Okay actual sizzling hot 3H take time:

In practice, the strongest in-universe pushback against the Church of Seiros is basically nobles/rulers going "Central Church politically gets in the way of me doing what I want" rather than like, principled Enlightenment-style secularism or Marxist communist state atheism that a lot of people wanna believe their faves are doing

Yes the Church has problems and their ideological criticisms of the Church may be legitimate, but it also serves to strengthen their own political power. Whether that's a good or a bad thing depends on perspective, but I don't think they are doing actual secularism as we know it. And they, in my opinion, can't do that yet, because they haven't gone through the kind of incidents/conditions that gave rise to secularism!

Some evidence towards this: Adrestia re-opens Southern Church after declaring war on Central Church, Leicester keeps Eastern Church in a "see we still have a Church" way in Hopes, Faerghus in Hopes also says they might have to open a new Northern Church if they break from the Central Church.

To what extent those regional churches and the rulers are directly linked may depend, but imo, this shows that they still gotta (directly or indirectly) appeal to religion for legitimacy of rule to an extent. If they were actually doing Enlightenment-style secularism or whatever then they'd be like "actually legitimacy is derived from consent of the governed and we (the government) don't need to pander to/involve religion period."

I do think the nations of Fódlan are on the way there. But it's in its very early stages and they're not anywhere near getting their own John Locke or other famous Enlightenment philosophers. Hell I don't think they're even at Renaissance yet.

And I'm not saying that the historical and political developments of a fictional world has to be exactly like our own. But even then, I think most of the above analysis still applies, which is:

None of the 3H lords are based™ epic™ Marxist communists doing state atheism, or even Enlightenment liberals doing secularism. They are rulers of their (pseudo-medieval/pre-modern/whatever) eras looking to solidify/expand/defend their own political powers, interests, and positions.

Thank you.

[cherrypikkins]

Here is my contribution for today's prompt for @fe-oc-week! Oct 9 - Introductions. I'll be posting about my fe3h oc, Kitt Burgess, as well as some related lore.

Kitt Burgess (they/them) Date of Birth: 14th of the Ethereal Moon (12/14) Place of Birth: Annwen, a village in the southern Oghma Mountains, Adrestia Height: 159cm/168cm Affiliation: Church of Seiros Crest: None (?) Strengths: Axes, Riding, Flying Weaknesses: Faith, Heavy Armor Budding Talent: Reason

Personal Ability: Demonic Resonance - Bonus to critical hit when within the attack range of a monster.

Interests: Wilderness survival, monster hunting Likes: The outdoors, superstition and fortune-telling, peculiar tasting foods Dislikes: Fighting against people, church politics, insect swarms, bland tasting foods

Click the read more for more lore :3 !

Kitt Burgess, Ward of the Church - Part I Kitt is a mysterious orphan who was taken in by the Church of Seiros at the behest of Seteth and Flayn. Though they are enrolled as a student at Garreg Mach, they have yet to officially join a house. Prior to arriving at the monastery, they lived in a remote village deep within the southern Oghma Mountains. Today, that area is but a burnt ruin, infested with Demonic Beasts.

Though outwardly polite and accommodating, they are known to be elusive, especially when asked to speak about themselves and their past. They are reluctant to use their full strength in combat, yet show an unsettling sort of enthusiasm when fighting monsters. They harbor a mutual distrust towards various members of the Church of Seiros, due to the latter's politics and secret-keeping. However, they seem to like the Professor well-enough and view them as a calming presence. They have an interest in superstition and local folklore, especially with matters concerning fate. They spend much of their time exploring the wilderness, investigating any reports of monsters or other unusual activity.

Should they be recruited, they will gladly follow Byleth to the end in any of the four routes. Otherwise, they will remain with the Church of Seiros.

Carnwennan, The Illusory Blade A forgotten relic associated with Gwyn, the Unsung Hero. The history of its usage and origins are unknown to Fodlan at large, as it has been discovered only recently by the Church of Seiros. However, the nature of its very creation is suspected to be 'monstrous beyond comprehension'.

It has the shape of a short blade, though it has the ability to suppress its own relic powers and take on the appearance of an ordinary knife. This would be explain why it has been highly difficult to track throughout history. Its true form is yet unknown. How it ultimately came to be in the possession of one Kitt Burgess is a story that they refuse to tell.

Despite taking the shape of a knife, it can be equipped as a sword.

Requires the Crest of Gwyn/Sign of the Mist Dragon to properly wield.

Chance of inflicting Silence on each attack.

Exclusive Combat Art: Spectral Sword - Might increases based on user's Resistance. Effective against Dragon foes and Mage-type units

Canopus, The Blessed Axe A sacred axe crafted by Saint Macuil, at the commission of Saint Seiros. Its powers are intended to be awakened when wielded by someone bearing the Crest of Gwyn. Because the 'true' bearer of the Crest of Gwyn has been lost since ancient history, Saint Macuil required the assistance of Saint Cichol and Saint Cethleann in order to correctly calibrate the weapon.

During the war between Seiros and Nemesis, this weapon was presented to the warrior Gwyn, who wielded it in defense of Enbarr when it was under siege. Upon Gwyn's departure from the battlefield, it was returned to the Church of Seiros and was last noted as being in the custody of Saint Cichol. Its present location is a secret closely guarded by the inner circle of the Church.

[mostrandomgallery]

What happens when you combine the greatest Fire Emblem game of all time with the greatest animated film of all time? Besides an AU that absolutely no one—not a single soul—asked for, you get the newest house at Garreg Mach Monastery...the Cotton Candy Elephants!

Unlike the Black Eagles, Blue Lions, and the Golden Deer, the Cotton Candy Elephants are open to accepting students from every region of Fódlan (so more like the Ashen Wolves), while the main three houses only accept students from their respective regions and conquered territories. This house has 9 students currently enrolled in it, one of which is the current house leader, Allegra von Hresvelg. When she made her appearance at Garreg Mach, Edelgard von Hresvelg of the Black Eagles was elated to find a surviving member of House Hresvelg that was close to her in age.

The house mascot is based on a majestic beast that lived in Fódlan's distant past, said to be part elephant, part cat, part dolphin, and made of cotton candy. Reportedly, it could cry candy and drive a chariot powered by song. Now lost to time and legends, Allegra chose to commemorate this beast in her house's banner.

Unlike her cousin Edelgard, Allegra is vibrant, lively, and positive, and has an eternally optimistic outlook on life. However, she can be a little immature at times. She loves her classmates even when they drive her nuts, the closest of which is her personal retainer, Tristesse von Edmund.

And now, it's time for Allegra's in-game stats:

Crest: Seiros (major)

Heroes’ Relic/Sacred Weapon: Seiros Sword, Seiros Shield (due to weakness in Axe, is not viable to have her use Aymr)

Strengths: Faith, Lance, Reason, Flying, Authority

Weaknesses: Axe, Brawl, Heavy Armor

Hidden Talent: Sword

Personal Skill: “Joyful and Bright”—When adjacent to any friendly/ally unit, grants a 5+ boost to Res, Lck, and Cha at the start of each turn

Unique Class(es)/Promotions: Noble → Lord, Light Flier → Holy Flier (a faith-based variant of the Dark Flier class)

Ideal Classes (generic): Soldier, Monk, Priest, Bishop, Pegasus Knight, Falcon Knight, Gremory

Learnable Magic: Heal, Fortify, Nosferatu, Aura, Abraxas, Seraphim, Warp, Rescue, Sagittae, Agnea’s Arrow

Ideal Combat Arts: Wraith Strike, Grounder, Hexblade, Finesse Slice, Tempest Lance, Knighkneeler, Glowing Ember, Monster Piercer, Euphoric Sparkle (unique to Holy Flier personal class)

Selection Quotes (Academy): "Alrighty!" (normal) "Let’s stay positive!" (mid-health), "I’m looking on the bright side!" (critical health)

Allegra has good base stats and excellent growth rates. Her best stats are Lck, Mag, and Cha. Her high growth rates in Cha make her an excellent tea party candidate, and she excels at choir practice. She is easy to build support with, and has very few disliked dishes; her favorite dishes being Sweet Bun Trio, Fisherman's Bounty, Pheasant Roast with Berry Sauce, and Peach Sorbet. If you want to build support through gifts, you may want to gift her a Tasty Baked Treat, a Goddess Statuette, a Board Game, an Armored Bear Stuffy, or a Sunflower. She can build support with everyone in her house, but her inter-house/faculty supports are limited to: Mercedes, Hilda, Ingrid, Ashe, Edelgard (yes a leader support!), Catherine, and Constance. As for S-Support, she is only available to Male Byleth.

I'm planning that on her route, Rhea decides to entrust the Seiros Sword and Shield to Allegra to fight the Adrestian Empire. Well, jokes on Rhea because Allegra plans to join up with Edelgard and destroy both the Church of Seiros and Those Who Slither in the Dark.

Fun Fact: The name "Allegra" is Latin for "joy". Since Spanish is my first language, there's obviously a connection to the words alegría (joy) and alegre (joyful). Originally, I wanted her to be part of House Bartels and bear the Crest of Lamine, but since Edelgard is a character that brings me joy, I made her part of House Hresvelg instead (even if it breaks the game lore, I'm just having fun!).

DO NOT REPOST!!! Also on deviantART

[ultraericthered]

A good deal of Church of Seiros stans and Black Eagles stans often seem to have trouble wrapping their heads around the concept of there being no one “actual true villain” looming large during White Clouds aside from the Agarthans, and that by design, choosing to side with one faction will more prominently show the defects of the other(s).

White Clouds spends the whole section making you suspicious of the Church and Rhea only to turn around and tell you it's a red herring and actually it's the student you should have been suspicious of; which the writers confirmed in interviews but this fandom has either the reading comprehension of wet paper or projects their Western centric views so hard onto a eastern style game that follows the path of enlightenment with Byleth to a t they ignore the text and thus we still have discourse over the church being bad. It's very tiring and why I refuse to talk about 3H because so many have turned it into something it's not.

.

[fantasyinvader]

"it's got to the point where they're misinterpreting the entire franchise as "fight dragons to free humanity" and any game that debunks this gets criticized for being "poorly written"

That's just an oversimplification of the franchise, as since the beginning the games have made it clear dragons are much like humans with there being good dragons and bad dragons. The good dragons follow an Eastern view of them as wise, divine beings who we need to coexist as they're tied to nature itself. Bad dragons follow the mold of Western dragons, and the ironic thing about all of this how Edelgard fits that mold better than Rhea does.

First off, Western dragons are animalistic. They're simply really strong beasts to be felled. With Edelgard, the Japanese text calls her path the animal path, linking it to Buddhism and implying that she isn't acting humanely or based on reason. She's acting on instinct and impulse, and even her ideals of the strong needing to rule over the weak subscribe to the animal realm which is basically law of the jungle. The strong prey on the weak, who live in fear of the strong.

Sometimes dragons need to be slain in order to obtain something. Like a treasure or a maiden. We need to slay Edelgard in order to free Fodlan and rescue Rhea. Whomever slays Edelgard is crowned king.

The whole rescuing maidens was because it was seen as more virtuous than simply seeking a treasure, with the dragon often being presented as a symbol of paganism. At times dragons are flat out demonic, tied to the devil. Not only do we have Edelgard opposing the Church, holding a vastly different set of beliefs from not just it but every FE lord according to heroes, Edelgard is also designed to invoke demons, specifically Baphomet which is a pagan symbol in her final evolutions. Not only that, Edelgard's beliefs came from the Agarthans whose fall would align with Lucifer's from a Christian perspective. Edelgard's weapon even has the settings on mark of the beast on it indicating she's an Antichrist figure of sort.

Greed is often attached to dragons, while the Buddhist symbolism would link it as one of the three flames. Attachment and greed are symbolized by a cock, a bird whereas Edelgard is the lord linked to eagles. Edelgard desires control over all of Fodlan, shaping it as she sees fit since she views it as her right to do so, and even turns herself into a monster, literally a beast unit, to do so.

Eastern dragons are associated with water, Sothis flooded the earth in order to heal the damage caused by the Agarthans while Rhea is an ice dragon going by her attacks. Western dragons are associated with fire, Edelgard is the flame emperor. Owing to this, dragons also have a history across the world of being slain by storm gods.

Edelgard herself may be part dragon, as the game says her family is supposedly descended from Seiros. We're being told Rhea is her ancestor.

The Eastern perspective is about coexisting with the dragons, as they embody nature itself, whereas the West is more about slaying dragons to show mankind's right to rule over the world. Edelgard repeats that mankind's right to rule the world bit. She rejects coexistence while she is trying to kill people who are part of her own family.

And if you think about the parallels of Fodlan to Elibe, what happened to Edelgard invokes Idunn. Edelgard was turned in a demon dragon as part of an effort to win the war, except it was done by the humans against the dragons. They took away her humanity, her soul as it were reducing her to following the animal path but unlike Idunn Edelgard can't be brought back to the light because she's more than just a victim. She's an active accomplice.

Edelgard is symbolically the game's evil dragon, whereas the Nabateans are the divine dragons which also aligns with them being the benevolent devas to the Agarthans being the drunk on their own power asuras.

[lananiscorner]

Pumpkin Carving with the Black Eagles

In the last two years, I posted some pumpkin carving with the Blue Lions / Church of Seiros head canons for Halloween, so let’s do the Black Eagles this time. Including Jeritza here, but not Monica, since this is based on playable characters in Black Eagles White Clouds and Crimson Flower.

Bernadetta: Has to be dragged to the pumpkin carving and nearly takes off her own finger when trying to do so in front of the others. She still ends up with the most amazing pumpkins in front of her door after going at it in the quiet and comfort of her own room.

Caspar: Is the one who started it and approaches the task with way too much enthusiasm. Every single one of his pumpkins has a scary face. None of them turn out particularly well. Still thinks it was fun.

Dorothea: There is no part of this that she likes. Risking a finger trying to carve up a stubborn vegetable? Not her kind of fun. Spooning stringy, slightly moist innards out of the gourd? Ew. Having to wash her hands a dozen times to get rid of that orange tint? Annoying. She spends most of her time encouraging the others as well as penciling designs for others to carve.

Edelgard: Approaches this with her usual perfectionism and ends up discarding her first four pumpkins for not being good enough. Spends more than 2 hours on the final one. Is very perplexed when some of her classmates don't appreciate "constructive criticism".

Ferdinand: Naturally tries to out-do Edelgard, so models his pumpkin after hers only better, which naturally ends up screwing him over when she discards the first four. He eventually goes with one of Dorothea's designs and creates one of the best pumpkins ever carved by a Black Eagle.

Hubert: Is scarily competent with a knife, but wouldn't bother with this triviality if Edelgard hadn't requested it. Goes way overboard on both the details in his designs and their general creepiness, to the point where some students muse they might summon an actual ghost if they light his pumpkins up. Much to Hubert's amusement.

Jeritza: Is only there because every student group needs to be overseen by at least one teacher and refuses to take part for the longest time. He eventually gives in at Edelgard's insistence and proves to have all the skill of Hubert and the imagination of Caspar.

Petra: Hands down the Black Eagle most excited for this activity. She's wicked good with a carving knife and ends up carving depictions of some of the scariest spirits and folk tales from Brigid. She's also the one who makes sure to collect all the pumpkin seeds for roasting and the rest of the innards for vegetable broth, so nothing goes to waste.

[diaphin93]

I often see this post being used as an argument to contradict Claudes claim in Three Hopes that the Church promotes isolationism when...it does the exact opposite. It actually pushes forward the idea of the Church actually being isolationist in its very tenets, considering how Lorenz speaks with certainty, that it does. In this case Lorenz would be much more knowledgeable about the churches practiced doctrine and tenets, because he was born and raised into the faith, as everyone in Fodlan has. Claude was not, he was born and raised in Almyra and his supports strongly hint at his personal spirituality leaning towards eastern practices of meditations as well as a form of animism in which the land is worshipped, with hints of zoroastrian inspired practices existing in Almyra.

Claude would be certainly knowledgeable about the church and its doctrine, him being clearly a studious person invested in increasing his knowledge, but he never seems in any way invested in the faith, outside of its cultural and political significance in Fodlan and howthat interacts with his personal political ambitions. Finally, in this case he doesn't even contradict Lorenz statement or present an argument, instead he answers the question with another question and sews uncertainty, which I think is either the Appeal to the Stone or invincible ignorance fallacy, where instead of offering an argumentative rebutal, he feigns ignorance on the topic entirely. Which makes sense in character, but only an idiot would be capable of taking at face value, especially when we later on got a definitive answer to that question from him, which is that Lorenz was right, the church prohibits official relations with outsiders. Its a character moment though, because it shows Claudes willingness to engage in fallacies to dismiss opposition to his goals, which somebody like Lorenz, who has a very strict, diligent and straight forward personality, does not know to engage with.

So yeah, one of the Church Fans biggest arguments of the church being not racist hints at them being actually racist.

[raijintosworn]

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: Cyan

Pronouns: she/they/he

Birthday (no year): 28/05 (I share my birth with Siegbert and am between Mercie and chrom!)

Where are you from? What is your time zone? From France, live in England so like 5 hours ahead of the toa clock so I miss a lot

How long is your roleplay experience? Like 15 years now??? What the fuck

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? So I had a friend in school who was a weeb and asked if I RP. And I thought he meant. You know. Nsfw. So I was like Ew no :( I am a teen that is gross. Then he explained he meant like fandom RP and how it works and then I joined him on GaiaOnline YES I'M THAT OLD THANKS AND YES I STILL USE GAIA. I started with hetalia. Yes I'd still like to die

How were you introduced to TOA? Lailah hinted at me for like 2 weeks with lines like "I joined this group and you know Gerome misses Cynthia" and I kept going "sounds fun :)" and did not realise they were hinting until they straight up asked. wow I have been here 6 months

Do you have any pets? No :( I don't have the time for them

What is your favorite time of year and why?(Season, holiday, general period) Summer despite you know. The bugs. But I can actually function in summer

What is your IRL occupation? Data entry; it's why I'm on the discord server most of my day now

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? I like cooking, baking, oh and I'm a cosplayer! I've been at it for 3 years and yes it's mostly fire emblem bar ONE (soon to be two)

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? Tales of (WHERE ARE MY TALES FRIENDS AT), Persona, critically acclaimed mmorpg FFXIV, octopath, ?? I'm not sure what else? I tried playing dragon age but it crashes constantly even with the fixes

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: I don't think I have a fave type but I really really love Dragonair 🥺

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! I once wrote about the ships I hate for an English exam. Got an A. But at what cost. One was a hetalia ship (I was a child.) and another was Bart and Milhouse. 😑 Yes that Bart and Milhouse.

How did you get into Fire Emblem? I was told to play Awakening because I'll love it and I'll totally love all these characters. Um. I never finished it. Then Fates came out, twitter didn't shut up about that and I refused to play it. Then 3H came out. I saw Edelgard and it was joever for me. So I bought it and I've been here ever since.

What Fire Emblem games have you played? Engage, 3H, Fates (all three routes baby), Awakening, Echoes, Warriors, Sacred Stones, a little FEH until I was put off cause I summoned Easter Xander, a little FE7 and I WILL. FINISH. PATH OF RADIANCE. I SWEAR TO YOU ALL RIGHT NOW.

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: first was technically Awakening but I didn't like it so I dropped it until 2022 I wanna say? So really my first FE was 3H. My favourite? Depends on the day.

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series!

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason!

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays?- Awakening:- Fates:- Three Houses:- Engage:

Favorite Fire Emblem class?

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable?

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? (Black Eagles, Blue Lions, Golden Deer, Church of Seiros, Those Who Slither in the Dark, unaffiliated civilian, other - for example Almyran)

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent?

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? (Firene, the Kingdom of Abundance; Brodia, the Kingdom of Might; Elusia, the Kingdom of Knowledge; Solm, the Queendom of Freedom; Lythos, the holy land of the Divine Dragon; Gradlon, the desolate land of the Fell Dragon)

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔(separate letters, to-ah, other?)

Current TOA muses: Cynthia and Ryoma!

Past TOA muses? Alas :(

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? Cynthia! My beloved. I didn't think she could be such a strong muse I picked her up cause I was bullied into it. Now she bullies me daily

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) I don't know actually? I love posh assholes. I love sweet girls. I love chaos characters. I dunno you should see my muse list on my indie it's a wild mix

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? I wanna write unrepentant assholes but I can't :( I struggle with that. I'm trying tho

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) um. Well. I like intimate stuff if you're picking up what I'm putting down. But then I run away about 2 replies in so I write fanfic usually. I like kissing too. Um. I love high emotional scenes too. If I could describe my writing style, it's "My Dinner With Andre - the novel" (I've never seen the film but I get the gist)

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? I want Ryoma to be happy. Like genuinely I want him to be in a place where he can forgive himself, maybe even forgive the nohrians. I want him to move on and have a peaceful life as a teacher. But I also want him to fall in love which is. So silly. But. My brain is a shipper lol. As for Cynthia? Hm. I have thoughts for her but that's a whole arc

Favorite TOA-related memories? I dunno! I've had a lotta fun here but I can't think of any specific stuff offhand? Maybe how welcoming everyone was when I joined that was nice 🥺

Present or past tense? Present! I live in the moment! I tend to tense match but present. I like third person and second person POV too but I can't RP in second person BC it feels weird? I mostly write in second person if I'm writing a vent fic. Why? I dunno

Normal size text, small text, no preference? I like tiny text but again I size match. I snoop to see what my partner does and copy them :D

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉  I am working towards the worst fucking creature. 0/10. I hate him (Innes. Yes he's my discord icon rn why do you ask). If someone else grabs him, hm. Tana? L'Arachel? I had more but I'm gunning for my moron mullet man ngl I have THOUGHTS

[curse-d-owl]

How Fire Emblem 3 Hopes butchered Claude's character.

In order for me to explain how 3 Hopes did him dirty i first have to explain what makes Claude so great in 3 Houses.

In Houses he's a clever and ambitious man who's main goal in life is to end racism and discrimination.

He wants to achieve that goal using his unique and powerful position as the Crown Prince of Almyra and the Leader of the Leicester Alliance to make that dream a reality.

For all his valid criticisms against the church and the Seiros faith he doesn't believe that violence is need to change the Church and Fodlan for the better and learns that Rhea isn't as averse to change than he initially believed.

He fights against Edelgard to put a stop to her senseless and bloody war that prevents him from achieving his dream and to protect innocents from her vicious conquest.

And whether he comes out on top, gets beaten by her or saved by Dimitri he's more than willing to disband the Leicester Alliance so that Fodlan can be better governed under one ruler and prevent opportunistic lords from sowing more conflict and he does everything in his power to keep his soldiers, citizens and himself alive by surrendering if he loses to Edelgard cause he know he can't achieve his noble dream if he's dead.

He's a wise, clever and creative visionary who wants to do everything in his power to achieve his goals as peacefully as possible.

Now that we've established that it's time to talk about his butchered counterpart and how he spits on everything Houses Claude stands for.

In Hopes he's a dimwitted and selfish man who's main goal is to preserve and expand Leicester's power, status and influence and dismantle the church through war which endangers everyone, Leicester included.

Not only has his original goal been reduced to an afterthought but the way he tries to achieve his new goal is more detrimental than it is beneficial.

He sides with his invaders who tried to violently conquer Leicester and slaughtered his soldiers and citizens. He continues Edelgard's pointless war that does more harm than good for everyone involved. He makes enemies out of allies like Faerghus and the Church the former out of a vendetta regarding Leicester and the latter over false and illogical accusations and throws away any opportunity to solve any issues with Faerghus and the Church peacefully by spilling their blood.

Not only was his vengeful nature not present in Houses but he's made statemants contradicting his stance on vengeance. From wanting to end a history of hostility between Almyra and Fodlan to extending mercy to Edelgard despite the crimes she's committed.

To make that matter even worse is that Hopes Claude is vengeful against the wrong group. He had no issues fighting Faerghus for what their ancestors did and yet doesn't have that same energy against Adrestia for their ancestors denying Leicester's right to be independent and the fact that Edelgard is responsible for the deaths in Leicester cause of her war.

And most accusations he throws at the church are either false or not even Rhea's fault but that of humans ( Which isn't to say Rhea and the church isn't without fault cause they definitely are corrupt ) and what's worse the church hasnt done anything to suggested they did commit the crimes he accuses them off and his source of information comes from an unreliable source.

He's so shortsighted, narrow-minded, delusional and all around idiotic that in Scarlet Blaze he and his weaker forces wages war against 2 bigger forces all in a sad attempt to conquer Fodlan for Leicester, needlessly throwing away the lives of his soldiers, citizens, friends and his own and disbanding Leicester in the process.

Which is all the more bizarre considering he teams up with Faerghus and the Church in Azure Moon despite his grudges against Faerghus and the Church making his decision to Scarlet Blaze even more stupid.

It's a shame it even came to this cause not only did the other 2 lords improve from their original counterparts but the goal of their routes were allowed to stay the same, Claude is the only one who's gotten a gross downgrade and the only one route objective was changed from stopping Edelgard and finding out the truth about Crests to becoming her errand boy.

The first half of Golden Wildfire was great and then everything went downhill since Claude killed his shoehorned and obnoxious brother. Why the second half couldn't be Claude cooperating with Faerghus and the Church like in Azure Gleam is beyond me.

But anyways that's the end of my long vent about 3 hopes and it's mistreatment of my favorite lord.

[deathbirby]

Decided the Church was the biggest threat??

You do realise she destroys TWSITD too right? But TWSITD is an organisation that isn't made of giant superpowered dragons, they just have the tools to kill a giant superpowered dragon if necessary.

She captures Rhea in most routes specifically so that she can get her help in fighting TWSITD after the war.

She also takes criticism several times. From Manuela, Lindhardt and Ferdinand and constantly changes her opinions.

She doesn't even say the Church is the biggest problem, she says Crests and Nobility are, because, if you fucking recall, the only reason TWSITD were able to kill her siblings at all was because of the nobility system and Duke Aegir!

Holy shit it's almost like she identified the root cause instead of the thing instantly in front of her, which she still ALSO DEALT WITH.

She needed Those Who Slither to capture Rhea, who she keeps free from their grasp. She is using them as best she can to defeat an eternal monarch of all of Fodlan for a millenium, before dealing with the less powerful force. She doesn't call Those Who Slither less important, but you don't win chess by killing the Queen do you? Doesn't mean she isn't the most powerful piece on the board, sometimes it's necessary to do one before the other.

Who would have thought in a tactics game a character would take the time to identify the severity of their threats.

Also Fodlan's history is legitimately twisted BY RHEA. Who's history is she going to listen to? Even Claude gets angry.

The character who most refuses to listen to anyone else's perspective, that would be a very special king man who can't see the forest for the trees. Crests are important because other places have advanced military forces, but y'know, we can't do that so forced caste system and breeding stock of women it is! The rich and poor just need to understand each other and the poor need to understand why I live in a castle and only marry women with crests.

Not only that. There's so much irony in the way that every single route ends with a unified Fodlan, without Rhea as the head of the religious state, who have all undergone reforms that serve to the betterment of the people.

Edelgard legitimately correctly identified the problem areas of Fodlan, that's why all the routes share the same outcomes.

Unification. No Rhea. No TWSITD. Political reform.

Wow!

You argue that she was wrong when she was entirely correct.

Fodlan's past doesn't even matter. It matters to Rhea and TWSITD.

What matters is nobility and crests feed into each other and Rhea is purposefully destroying technology to keep Fodlan in a state of perpetual readiness to accept the return of the goddess who she expects to *drumroll* unite Fodlan! Edelgard blames the Church for a few things they didn't do, but it scarcely matters because the Church is doing wrong things and so is TWSITD and she's getting rid of both.

She doesn't even remove the faith and keeps it running during her occupation of Garreg Mach. What more could she possibly do?

She's not interested in world domination, she never forces Brigid to fight.

She just knows that she can't reform Adrestia without the standing army that is the Knights of Seiros banging down her Empire. Or did you miss the bit where Rhea calls for the summery execution of the head of a sovereign nation without a trial or discussion. And then refuses Byleth when she tries to stop Edelgard from being executed without any form of discussion.

Look, I know people are going to be more harsh on Edelgard and more forgiving to the others because of, reasons? I guess it's kind of evil of her to support disability care where she enables others to work in environments that allow them to reach their maximum potential. Instead of, idk, believing that you're either born strong or weak and the job of the strong is to accept the weak and never try and understand how circumstances may very well be the thing that makes someone "weak."

But what do I know, it's not like there's a character with crippling anxiety that only comes out of her room in a singular route due to the support of someone who helps the "weak" find their strengths. Unlike someone in another route who baulks a being called a shut-in like that very same character. What a guy!

In the end, the history doesn't matter.

Fodlan is a misogynistic, homophobic, feudalist society, ruled by an eternal theocracy, and nobility who would rather assassinate their leaders than attempt reform.

It does not facilitate the common people, who are likely illiterate due to the suppression of the printing press by SOMEONE, and is stifling its own potential for the sake of mindless xenophobia. Which is what the officer's academy is for, by the way, to fight invaders like Dagda and Almyra, two places Rhea has coincidentally collected two people from! Don't forget how Catherine said she would have struck someone who wasn't Shamir down! Rhea did that. Super chill and peaceful. And that's not even mentioning the cover up that was Christophe... Or the treatment of the Western Church, who *checks notes* ah, yes, they eradicated over their errant beliefs over the saints and Rhea's position as archbishop. Yes. She handles dissent from sovereign people well.

The Church seems good because they can afford to appear good because Fodlan has no choice! The nobility are church backed and the church is nobility backed and the Holy Kingdom has no choice because it also church backed!

So yeah, she might have been able to swing an internal reform of her country, all while TWSITD enact their plans in the Kingdom, or she wages a shadow war against them. But, that's probably going to get her the ire of the church if her people start reading and realise their gods are all fake because Sothis is literally dead.

But that's not going to help the poor crested woman in the Kingdom who is needs to have her 10th child so this one, hopefully, maybe might be crested. Which is what Mercedes, Ingrid, Marianne, Dorothea and Bernadetta all have in store for themselves! Oh, and probably Annette and Hilda too but it's less obvious.

Sure would be kind of Edelgard to only help Bernie and Dorothea.

"That example you gave comes from Adrestia!" Yeah, I know. But do you think in the world Sylvain is so afraid of that HASN'T happened? It's unfortunate that the land of Man's Strength didn't have more female students... Unless... You don't think that's indicative of what life is like there do you? Some kind of land where the future king might forget to include one of his close female friends in his list of friends!? The very same one who lost the man she was betrothed to since birth? Surely that places values its women and wouldn't fatten their only daughter up to be breeding stock despite her personal ambitions, all because the loss of crests would destabilize their nation as a whole because the nobility would lose their power and so would the church that legitimises them as an actual nation??

Things are great there. There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

Who fucking cares why Nemesis and Seiros fought. Seiros dragged the entire continent into a war out of vengeance. That's what happened. She then neglected to look into Those Who Slither in the Dark not for one year, not for two, not for five, but for one THOUSAND years.

They're ONLY exposed because of Hubert and Edelgard. Don't fucking forget that. It was their actions that got Those Who Slither killed.

But na, Rhea is gud.

Or at least it's far more comfortable to just believe that both the women are bad and the Boi has all the answers.

"He's setting up the groundwork for a democracy" I hear people bullshit.

You know that's a bad thing right? He's not setting up any fucking schools. Duscur was a genocide. Fodlan is xenophobic. Literally any votes that happen are going to go the exact same way the Voice to Parliament did in Australia and I don't say that as a joke, it's disgusting what happened. Democracy is fucking shit for groups of people who cannot use socially equitable (publically available and suited to the individual circumstances of the user) services to attain political power to force progress.

Dimitri's entire idea isn't to raise these people up, it's to hear what they say and decide PERSONALLY if that's a good idea.

Which is going to go oh so well the first time that comes into conflict with the legitimacy of the church or crests.

Meanwhile Edelgard establishes a system that actively contests her individual judgement through the use of expert testimony filling in for various public and political sectors that are open to literally anyone who proves they are the best in their field, with an intentional retirement plan that breaks the line of succession opening the door for any commoner to rise to the position of emperor.

But yeah, I guess the person who destroys all the major corrupt institutions of Fodlan, believes in rehabilitation instead of retributive justice (she does not kill Aegir or any of the nobles responsible for her imprisonment. She even offers Rhea a chance to surrender and instead serve public reform, something she also offers Jeritza,) creates public schooling, changes her mind on the purpose of religious thinking, grants sovereignty to her vassal state, creates a workspace specifically designed to enable the disabilities of several workers while also aiding them in reaching their personal potential (even while those people could very well turn on her later), and rules the most sexually liberated nation in all of Fodlan, both with regard to gender expression and sexual preference (see Lindhardt, Caspar's less-toxic masculinity, and like, all of the gayness of all the Eagles) which she personally fall under. Yeah. That woman is the stuck up bad guy because she thinks that Nemesis and Seiros fought for the right of humanity to rule itself vs immortals. Instead of. That, ah. Other reason. That they fought.

Yeah Seiros fought Nemesis out of revenge, but did you ever stop to think that maybe Nemesis might not have wanted a dragon pope either? That he may have actually have been a good leader in the north?

Seiros is justified in wanting revenge for her family, but she didn't do Fodlan any favours. She didn't help them. Dagda is doing just fine without the Goddess. Crests may have been genetically wiped out over time if Rhea didn't put so much importance on them to the point they literally change inheritance.

I get it, Slithers bad. They killed Edelgard's family. They hurt her. But it sure must suck to not be able to see the path beyond that and how that was even made possible. Edelgard can see it. She even explains it. Everyone agrees because no one keeps Rhea in charge, including Rhea. And they all kill the Slithers. Except Dimitri who did it on accident and got very lucky it wasn't a Hydra situation... We hope.

Sure is fucked up that Three House's main character dies of screen half the time. Weird.

I also feel like I didn't mention Claude enough. Y'know, the guy who looks into Fodlan's history like crazy. Super fucking crazy and answers all of, zero questions until he asks Rhea who tells him because literally only she has that information and STILL she doesn't know shit about the Slithers.

Yeah, what was Edelgard supposed to do again?

Claude got really lucky. His reformed Fodlan would have been super bad of he didn't know the specifics of *checks notes* Rhea is a dragon and the Slithers did bad things to Fodlan.

Wait. That's the same shit Edelgard knows!

Oh, but it's different because, ah, Seteth and Flayn are still alive, no, wait, that happens in Crimson Flower too.

Seteth is allowed to be in government? The same guy who slaughtered the western church for headcanoning Cichol wrong? Wonderful.

Except, Edelgard doesn't really actually say that Seteth and Flayn can't hold government. She says they can't "rule over humanity" which is contextually different. She doesn't want them to do what Rhea did, but public office is different...

Aww beans. Looks like all she did was start a war under the entirely true pretext that Rhea was abusing her power in the here and now, and so she could break the shackles that her oppressors had over her by turning the tides on them through Byleth or a captured Rhea.

So evil. I hate it when someone comes along to criticise the religiously and politically sanctioned sexual slavery of women and then asks why the King of said kingdom isn't just surrendering to her terms despite the fact that he doesn't have any political motivation outside of:

1. Revenge

2. Occupation is bad? I think? (Wait doesn't the church occupy us-)

when surrending to those terms would actually remove them from under the church's legitimization and provide them with the means to undo the harmful social practices such as sexism and xenophobia instilled within them from the church that lead to his personal trauma in the first place.

But y'know, the name would change. He'd still be in power because Edelgard does maintain the regional leaders for a time while she puts her reforms in place, but the name would change and that's icky. Better die on this hill for some reason so the sacrifice of everyone who died in this war can be even more for nothing as we half ass the same fucking reforms off the back of Rhea's dethroning and the death of the Slithers. Oh shit, that wasn't Dimitri was it. That's Sylvain who does that. The most Eagle Lion to ever be a bisexual man repressed by the sexist and homophobic society he lives in.

Fuck off Edelgard is wrong. The history is vague because Rhea literally hid it and even then it's not actually the truth because we literally still don't know if Sothis was benevolent or not. Rhea is also trying to install a method of governance (Sothis) that already fucking failed. Most good rulers and gods don't let their nations nuke themselves to death but maybe Shamir can tell us of the time Dagda did that to themselves. And the history also doesn't matter. Who cares why Nemesis did what he did. It was bad, it's Rhea's origin story for why she doesn't let humanity advance itself. The cause is irrelevant because it literally can't happen again! Not to mention that, if the Nabateans were as bad as the Slithers, we do genocide the Slithers, but that's okay, because they're bad.

What a useless criticism to level at her. That's like saying it's unjust for me to hate the church for homophobia because I don't understand the persecution of catholics under Nero.

Bitch, who gives a shit they're doing bad fucking stuff now! Yes, I think it's also valid to overturn the government of a nation that wants me dead on sight for being gay, they're violating human rights and citing sovereignty as their excuse, fuck that, people over countries.

War is bad, yes, but y'know what's also bad? Political reforms that fail because the population is uneducated, xenophobic, and democracy is a system of privilege and popularity that gives voices to those who don't know what they're fucking talking about. Just look up Voice to Parliament in Australia, it's just racism that got it knocked back. Democracy gave a voice to racism.

Bring on the Edelgards of the world. I'm disabled as fuck and I want her meritocracy more than anything. Definitely much more than I want dumbfucks "we hear you" new world with upward mobility determined by how able bodied and willing to participate in bioessentialism I am. I think there's a word for it. Ah. Eugenics. Crests are a form of eugenics. Rhea and Dimitri both endorsed eugenics. (remember! He only pairs with crested women! And his right to rule is literally based on his possession of a crest.) Good shit.

Adrestia: Commoners can become the Emperor.

Faerghus: You can become queen if you're afab, heterosexual and have a crest. (You also need to be able to produce viable children who are also crested. It's a good thing nothing bad has ever happened to queens who failed to produce legitimate heirs to a king, that would be a worrying precedent! Henry the who-th?)

"Everyone can participate in politics!" With what fucking education? No one goes to school but the rich! It's the same shit we have irl, it's the same thing they ALREADY HAD.

Just say you're a sexist and move on.

Edelgard bad because no pebis :C

P.S. Claude is just a less effective Edelgard who prolonged the war due to his vanity. His refusal to choose a side so that he could be the ultimate victor stalled the war for several additional years racking up additional loss of life which he could have prevented by deciding that he didn't need to be the sole author of this victory and reform. Either side could have won sooner if not for his impotence. And the Roundtable is still full of crested nobles with no schooling and religious doctrine so it's still a fucking L. Die poor Leonie of the world and anyone who wants higher education. Get born rich next time?

P.P.S. You gotta feel somewhat bad for Dimitri, he can basically marry Dedue or Felix, but he can't actually marry them because he reinforced heteronormative practices that require him to take a wife instead of actually getting to be with his husband. Sure "everyone" can participate in politics, except for the bisexual king who isn't actually allowed to be himself because of all the bigotry he reinstalled in his country. Meanwhile Edelgard and F Byleth are referred to as spouses in the Japanese, exchanged rings, and the English made it homophobic so certain characters wouldn't seem to bad to the sensibilities of particular white men. How. Interesting.

LMAOOO WHY IS THIS OVER 3000 WORDS LONG??

Nahh you gotta out and touch grass my dude, there is no character worth writing a whole college thesis about.

[maelor321]

I meant more a story which show how the Church was abused by the lords of Fódlan if anything, especially Adrestia even before Edelgard.

Honestly, if there's a story where Dorothea realize how unfair she is, it would be nice.

Because her issues come from Adrestian society, who's sins are done in defiance of the Church since they ignore Rhea's will and destroyed the Southern Church.

Honestly, the Southern Church having been destroyed is too important for it to be barely talked enough as it is, though Hopes in a way is worse because it act as if Rhea hate the idea of a Southerners Church rather than hating a church being the puppet of a state.

And the main narrative unless you dig on the matter purposefully act as if it is not the Hresvelgs that destroyed the Southern Church because they refused to be the Emperor's bitches.

The wasted narrative potential of the Church of Seiros' weakness.

 The church of Seiros is rather infamous, as it is the organization overseeing the main Faith of Fódlan, akin to the Catholic Church in medieval Europe, including for the small territoires. 

The Church is seen by the Fandom and by many in-universe as truly powerful, controlling the Land through the devotion of the people, with a goal of ruling all of Fódlan as puppet masters at best. 

That however is factually false. 

The Church of Seiros is not some all-powerful organization, and isn't even unified. 

Rhea refuse to use her power to dictate policies of the nations, in fact, she many times is too meek, though it make sense.

The Eastern Church are weaponless and puppets of the lords of Leicester, the Southern Church was destroyed, and Faerghus is divided between the western and Central church, with the Western Church and it's aligned lords being traitors to both the Crown and central Church, and puppets of the Agarthans. 

Furthermore, the ideology of the Church, that promote the restraint from abusing Crests, is utterly ignored whenever convenient. 

And just look what happened with the Central Church being invaded! Many lords of Leicester and Faerghus swore themselves to Edelgard, and even in Adrestia, Edie didn't seem to face opposition. 

Though that last point is a bit horseshit, I'm French, and our own first revolution caused a Civil War with the Vendée region's commoners being the most famous for fighting to defend Crown, lords and Faith, it also show how Hresvelg propaganda against the Church, Hresvelg, not merely Edelgard, destroyed the ability of the Church to call to aid anyone south of Garreg Mach, or even East of it.  

The matter really is a wasted opportunity narratively, because the Church being all powerful is something done often in fiction, but beside the actively treacherous and xenophobic Western Church, none of the Churches is really doing manipulation, and the western Church's plots are guided by the Agarthans anyway.

I think there's a lot of possible stories from a Church-centric POV about how the Faith's weakness and scapegoat status, and the fact that so few care for it in favor of treating the organization as the genderbend Catholic Church on steroids is disappointing.

I've seen the comparison with the schrodinger cat being done with the Church and Rhea, the idea being that they're blamed whenever they "overstep", ignoring how their actions are usually justified, but at the same time blamed when they stay out of shits.

If anyone do know stories which exploit this potential, do tell.

[mousegard]

the curtain rises for act two, featuring more angst, more action, and a fancy new logo!

Episode 1: Words Without a Rhyme

The Black Eagles discover penguins. Byleth begins to remember her past lives. Cagliostro meets Heidrun and instantly becomes t4t.

“I don’t want to kill Edelgard.” He said it softly, quietly, so the army of the Church of Seiros wouldn’t hear it. But to his ears, it felt as though his voice rang out and echoed throughout the foyer of Enbarr Palace. His students heard it, though. Some looked somber. Linhardt. Dorothea. They were trying hard not to think the same thing. Ferdinand looked almost too confident as her words reached his ears. But Caspar, Cyril, and Flayn, of course, were unmoved. Seteth placed a hand upon his back. “She is one of your students,” he assured him. “I understand your desire for a path to peace.” Byleth knew what he would say next. “But she will never bend to our will.” He nodded. It was all he could do to keep his head clear. “You do understand that, do you not? We have no choice but to kill her.” He nodded again. He had no choice but to kill Edelgard. “We have already killed Hubert,” Ferdinand said. Too confident. Too decisive in his words. Byleth had overheard him criticizing Hubert once, back at the academy, for only doing whatever Edelgard said and never thinking for himself. But lately, it seemed Ferdinand let Byleth and Seteth do more and more of the thinking for him. (‘It does not matter what I think,’ he’d said to Hubert just outside the palace before striking him down in battle. ‘Those are my orders.’) “She has it coming!” Caspar shouted. “After all, she started this war!” He was right. She had started this war. Because she would never bend to the Church’s will. And Byleth knew what happened to people who didn’t bend. They all knew. They had seen it on Magdred Way, seen it when Catherine’s mighty Thunderbrand had shattered Lord Lonato’s skull and spilled out all his rage and grief on the grass. The Church broke them. That was what he and Seteth were here to do.